


Unreachable

by hello_pink



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, BOTH, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, M/M, MSBY Black Jackals - Freeform, Olympics, Sad Ending, Schweiden Adlers - Freeform, Soulmates, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hello_pink/pseuds/hello_pink
Summary: Envelopes are given to 16 year olds on their birthday, detailing who their fated match is by who their wrist mark represents.Hinata wonders why Kageyama never talks to him about it despite them being 18.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS
> 
> I got this idea yesterday and instead of writing the next chapter for Player Two, I of course did this :P
> 
> The whole soulmate aspect isn't super important in this story but it is there kinda...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS
> 
> I got this idea yesterday and instead of writing the next chapter for Player Two, I of course did this :P
> 
> The whole soulmate aspect isn't super important in this story but it is there kinda...

“You don’t win alone. That’s just how it is.”

“As long as I’m here, you’re invincible!”

“You can fly even higher.”

* * *

Third year Hinata Shoyo made his way towards the clubroom, singing softly to himself. He skipped slightly as the pep in high step made him feel like he was flying. The year may be coming to an end, but Hinata’s excitement more than made up for the dread of graduation and what was to follow.

On top of that, he was determined to not let his soulmate slip through his fingers. Every night, his dreams were filled with warm thoughts of volleyball, his soulmate, and playing volleyball with his soulmate.

Shaking his head, he replaced his thinking-about-his-soulmate smile with his I’m-excited-to-hang-out-with-my-friends smile. He burst through the clubroom door and was greeted with an excited ‘Shoyo!’ from Yamaguchi, a ‘tch’ and an eye roll from Tsukishima, and a ‘hey’ from Kageyama. Hinata smiled broadly at his friends before plopping down next to Kageyama in order to complete their third year square.

Yamaguchi was comfortably pulled into Tsukishima’s side, as the two soulmates had been together for two years at this point. Hinata sighed softly to himself as he recalled that the two had confessed their feelings to one another after the soulmate test results came back at the tender age of 16.

The test was administered by the government at birth and the results made known to the subject on their 16th birthday. The name would reveal who the mark on the person’s wrist alluded to since no two marks were the same. Most people wore bracelets or bandages to cover their mark until they had met their soulmate.

Hinata’s smile somehow widened at how the team had celebrated once Tsukishima and Yamaguchi came to practice together after Tsukishima’s birthday holding hands. It turns out that both of them had suspected the other to be their fated beloved, but Tsukishima’s results only solidified that fact.

Hinata was snapped out of his flashback by Kageyama nudging him. “It’s your turn to have first dibs on the snacks, boke.” Kageyama didn’t look at Hinata when speaking, but Hinata beamed up at him anyways.

“Thanks!” he reached for his typical pick of the snacks, and no one was surprised.

Tsukishima was surprisingly good at picking out what each person would like every week when they met up to watch movies or just talk in the club room, but he denied paying attention to the others whenever asked.

_Lucky guess,_ he would always claim. Or he would scoff: _I didn’t want to hear your whining._

Whatever the case, everyone ended up happy. It was Yamaguchi’s turn to pick the movie, and Tsukishima and Kageyama groaned when Yamaguchi hesitantly reached into his bag and pulled out a recently released romance movie.

Hinata all but vibrated in excitement as he gushed to Yamaguchi about how excited he had been to see the movie. The two swooned over the sweet love story promised by trailers about two star-crossed lovers torn apart by their soulmate letters not matching only to end up together and have the results changed when they had it rechecked. The story was preposterous and illogical, but it was fun to imagine a world where their lives may end up differently.

Of course, the happy ending left the two emotional boys with dried tears down their cheeks. Tsukishima gently thumbed at the few stray tears tracking down Yamaguchi’s freckled cheeks and softly reassured Yamaguchi that everything was alright and had worked out and that his boyfriend was right next to him.

Hinata’s eyes softly welled up with tears once more at the sweet sight, and Kageyama shifted restlessly next to him. Tsukishima looked up once Yamaguchi had fully calmed down. He pointedly looked at Kageyama before saying, “Aren’t you going to comfort him, King?”

Kageyama looked at him blankly, not commenting on how his stomach twisted at seeing shiny tears stream down Hinata’s features. “Why?” he asked evenly.

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes before hesitatingly looking down at Yamaguchi. “Well, Tadashi looks like he wants to lunge over there and comfort Hinata, but I’m too comfortable with my boyfriend to let him do it so it’s now your job.”  
Kageyama stared at Tsukishima before looking at Hinata from the corner of his eye. Hinata’s cheeks tinged pink and he began to rapidly shake his head. “No, no!” he cried out. “It’s okay! I’m okay! Just…” he scrambled for a way to get the attention off of himself. “What did you guys think of the movie?”  
Yamaguchi perked up. “I thought it was a super sweet idea, though I’m glad I easily found my soulmate…” he nervously cast a glance at Hinata that went unnoticed by no one but the orange-haired boy.

Yamaguchi looked up at his boyfriend who had an arm wrapped around his waist to grasp his hand in a sweet gesture. “What did you think, Tsukki?”

Tsukishima thought for a moment before replying. “I thought that it was an interesting concept, sure, but a lot of this could have been avoided if they’d just tried to find their fated anyways.”

Yamaguchi shook his head lightly. “Sure, but a lot of the problem was that they still needed to find themselves before finding each other.”

Tsukishima nodded his head in agreement. “I supposed.” he looked down in thought for a moment before looking over at Kageyama. “What about you?”

Three sets of eyes looked over at Kageyama, though one more hesitant than the others.

“Well,” he hesitated, “I admire that the two tried to find happiness outside of what the test said.”

Yamaguchi nervously looked at Hinata only to find that his smile had a few cracks in it. Yamaguchi scrambled to find a way to change the subject but came up with none since Tsukishima had decided to ask Kageyama what he meant.

“I just think that they had the right idea to try and find their happiness with someone or something else… that’s what I’m planning to do anyways.”

Yamaguchi froze before looking at Kageyama curiously. “What do you mean something else? What are you planning?”

Kageyama nervously looked at the ceiling before scratching his neck. “I don’t think I need a soulmate or anything. My happiness comes from playing volleyball with my teammates… I’ve learned that much. I don’t think I need anyone else.”

Yamaguchi snuck a glance at Hinata to see him deathly pale and gripping his pants tightly while staring blankly at Kageyama.

* * *

_“Yamaguchi!! My results are here!! I don’t really know who else to open this with, so are you available to be there with me?”_

_16 year old Yamaguchi rushed over to Hinata’s house despite the long commute, wanting to be there for his teammate when he found out about his life-changing news._

_Not long after Yamaguchi had arrived, he was dragged to Hinata’s room and the bright boy urged him to sit down on the bed with him. With minimal pleasantries exchanged, Hinata ripped open the envelope._

_Inside, he skimmed through the complementary information as it all felt like it was in another language. The only thing Hinata could read was the text at the bottom of the page:_

_Hinata Shoyo, your fated is Kageyama Tobio. Congratulations!_

* * *

_Hinata had been there for Yamaguchi as he tensely waited for Tsukishima to tell him what his envelope had said. Hinata was the first to know that the two were fated._

_Yamaguchi was there for Hinata during the late nights when Hinata wasn’t sure what to do._

_“Does he not want to talk about it? He ignores me whenever I try to ask him about his envelope!” Hinata cried._

_“He’s my soulmate, but I’m willing to wait as long as it takes until he’s ready. I do love him, afterall.” Hinata always smiled and assured himself to wait after all of his tears had been shed._

_Yamaguchi was never sure how to comfort the other boy despite having over two years to help Hinata with his reality._

* * *

Their assumptions about how everything would turn out fine were shattered by Kageyama, however, when he told the group, “I never even bothered opening the letter. I don’t need to know who it is.”

Hinata’s world stopped. Behind his closed eyelids played thousands of memories over the past three years of celebrating wins, sobbing on the bus ride home together after losses, and late night calls talking about volleyball and everything in between.

Hinata would have felt his stomach sink if he could feel anything at all. White noise and a distant ringing accompanied Hinata in his solitude. The boy was right next to him, but he could not have been farther away.

Yamaguchi, the kind soul he is, quickly made an excuse that no one believed and said his goodbyes to Kageyama as well as a promise of a call later that evening to his boyfriend as he rushed out of the clubroom with Hinata in tow.

With Kageyama living in the other direction, Yamaguchi brought a disassociating Hinata towards his home before texting his boyfriend to tell him to meet them nearby. Soon after, Tsukishima’s tall form could be seen. Yamaguchi nervously looked at Hinata before gently nudging him. Hinata barely roused and his eyes had a blank look in them, but Yamaguchi still needed to ask permission.

“Shoyo,” he softly began, “can I tell Tsukki? About… you know…”

Hinata nodded almost imperceptibly, but Yamaguchi saw it and quickly began summarizing to Tsukishima.

The blonde’s eyes widened and his jaw set. Yamaguchi saw that the fondness in his eyes for Hinata had been replaced by anger for Kageyama and how he had unknowingly broken Hinata.

Yamaguchi tugged on his boyfriend’s sleeve, urging him to stay. “Can you text the group chat and suggest we stop meeting weekly?” he asked. “It’s believable if you’re the one saying it’s for studying…”

Tsukishima nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best…”

Yamaguchi wrapped his arms around Hinata in order to comfort him. After a moment, Tsukishima reluctantly did the same. The boyfriends leaned on Hinata and surrounded him in an effort to remind him that he had others to lean on himself, though both knew that hearing the words spoken aloud by two soulmates would do little good.

“You know…” Tsukishima quietly rumbled after a bit with his cheek still resting on Hinata’s head, “with the season over and just final exams left, you don’t have to see him anymore.”

“That’s right!” Yamaguchi jumped up, causing several heads to knock together. “Sorry… anyways! You can go somewhere without him and make your own future! What were you planning on?”

Fresh tears slowly marched down Hinata’s pale cheeks and his voice cracked when he attempted to speak.

* * *

_“An offer from JTKET? Congrats, Kageyama!! Are you going to take it?” A third year Hinata asked Kageyama._

_“I was approached by the coach after Interhigh,” Kageyama explained, “but I also need to consider Schweiden and Tachibana…” he blushed at the attention from Hinata._

_“That’s awesome!!!” Hinata smiled broadly at the other boy. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we both went pro together?” he didn’t bring up his thoughts of beach volleyball, blindly hoping he would be able to go anywhere with Kageyama._

_“Yes.” the word escaped from Kageyama before he had even had time to fully process the question. His face burned brightly before he attempted to backtrack. “Of course, it won’t happen, boke, because I’m going on ahead once again!”_

_Hinata stuck his tongue out before replying, “We’ll see!!”_

* * *

“K-Kageyama and I h-h-had b-been talking about going p-pro toge-ether…” he hiccuped and the other two winced.

“Well, whatever you do, we’ll support you on it!” Yamaguchi reassured him.

A watery smile graced Hinata’s features, and he looked up at Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. “Thank you.” The two words did more than enough to convey how much they meant to him.

* * *

A single player could be found in the gym on graduation day, jumping up to serve and sending a monster serve to the other side. One quickly became two as Hinata quickly jumped into position and perfectly received the ball.

Despite not having talked for more than a fleeting moment in weeks, the two found themselves staring at each other from across the net.

“See ya later, Kageyama!” Hinata forced a smile one last time.

“Yeah.” Kageyama looked at him fondly. “See you later.”

Hinata walked out of the gym first, not turning around to see if Kageyama would follow.

* * *

_Where is he?_ Kageyama frantically scrolled through the rosters of every team in the V-League.

After a minute of confused staring at his screen, he was approached by none other than Ushijima. “What is wrong?” he asked, confused as to why their normally stoic setter was getting worked up over anything.

Kageyama briefly looked up before turning his attention back to his screen. “I’m trying to see what team Sh--Hinata is on, but I’m not seeing him on any rosters…”

“Hinata?” Hoshiumi was summoned at the mere mention of his rival. “Didn’t you see his Instagram post?”

Kageyama’s silence indicated a no, but he still spoke up. “I haven’t checked his social media since that would be stalking.”

Ushijima nodded his agreement, but Hoshiumi shook his head. “You haven’t checked in with any of your old teammates in almost a year!?” Hoshiumi looked horrified at Kageyama’s inaction. “It’s not stalking, it’s keeping up with their lives!!”

Kageyama gently shook his head. “No, I haven’t texted him since we fell off towards the end of our third year. I text others sometimes, though, and they all tell me he’s fine.”

Ushijima’s deep voice echoed through the locker room buzzing with activity as he glanced at Kageyama. “Why are you going this long without talking to your soulmate?”

Kageyama blushed a soft pink before looking around. “Soulmate?”

Hoshiumi nodded. “Right, right. Your soulmate? Hinata? Did you have a fight or somethin? You shouldn’t fight with your soulmate, you know…”

Kageyama shook his head. “But he’s not my soulmate…”

The locker room went silent.

“Oh… sorry.” Hoshiumi apologized. “We all just kinda assumed…”

Ushijima grunted his own apology before continuing on with his routine.

Kageyama looked around to see that most people were slowly moving around. A few avoided his gaze, and Kageyama shrunk into himself a bit. _Did they all think that? Why does it matter_ _?_

* * *

Later that night, as Kageyama glared at the moon outside of his apartment window, he checked his phone.

_Error: we’re sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service._

Messages undeliverable and an unreachable phone number told Kageyama that Hinata’s contact information had changed without him knowing. He considered following the other man on social media, but felt like that truly would be stalkerish.

He plugged his phone in as the night grew too long for him to keep his eyes open. His eyes drifted over to his nightstand, but the brief glance was enough for stinging tears to fill his eyes.

Silently crying became Kageyama’s solace as day after day he played volleyball with his new teammates, but nighttime reminded him of what he had left behind.

A now-opened envelope, creased at the edges due to age, laid on his nightstand for months, waiting for Kageyama—waiting with Kageyama—for the moment when the contents inside would be reunited and fulfilled.

Maybe someday.

But today never seemed to be someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	2. Sad Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sad ending to this soulmate story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally wanted a sad ending to this story but I will be posting the happy ending a few minutes after this sad ending so you can pick which one you like. 
> 
> Sorry for the wait!!

_“I never even bothered opening the letter. I don’t need to know who it is.”_

* * *

November 2018

“So that’s the guy you teamed up with, huh? Woah! Looks like one intimidating mountain of a man to me…” Atsumu smirked as he looked over Hinata’s shoulder to peer at the smaller man’s phone.

“Yeah, his blocking is super intimidating, but he’s usually all smiles and fun times.” Hinata smiled, reminiscing on the friend he had made in Brazil. His smile widened as he continued saying, “I heard he’s gonna be a dad soon, so he’s extra focused on playing his best right now.”

Atsumu nodded his head before scratching at his chin. “Really? Congrats to him… I bet him and his soulmate are super happy together.”

Hinata shook his head and laughed. “Actually, they’re not--”

_**“And next, it’s Kageyama up to serve!”**_

Hinata’s body froze as his eyes slowly trailed from Atsumu’s face back down to his phone. His peripheral vision didn’t miss the way Atsumu’s face twisted and looked around for help.

_**“Up to be served a piping hot plate of delicious POWER CURRY, that is!”**_

Hinata looked away from the screen and the ridiculous display of Kageyama going to town on a plate of curry. His intense focus drew Hinata back to the screen as Hinata smiled seeing Kageyama giving his all just like he always did.

Hinata shivered as the Kageyama in the commercial looked into the camera. It felt like he was staring directly at Hinata.

_What would he say if it was just us? It’s been so long…_

_**“POWER CURRY is a service ace.”** _Kageyama’s delivery was fairly bland, but hearing Kageyama’s voice for the first time in years caused a sob to wrack through Hinata’s body, but he quickly did the breathing exercises Yamaguchi had taught him a few months back.

He could feel Atsumu’s gaze on him, but neither of them were able to address the situation as the bus came to a halt and Bokuto leapt up to yell, “OOH! WE’RE HERE!”

Atsumu cringed at Bokuto’s volume. “Dude, do you have any other settings besides zero and one hundred and twenty!?” the blonde complained.

The team walked in with smiles on their faces, looking forward to the game. All of them were doing their pre-game rituals, and Hinata was internally sorting through his thoughts so he would be able to focus when the time came.

Upon entering the Kamei Arena Sendai, Hinata took a deep breath in. Nostalgic, he couldn’t help but gasp, “The smell of Icy Hot spray!”

After walking around with Bokuto to find what was smelling so good, the two professional athletes stumbled upon the food stand of Osamu Miya. Hinata gasped upon seeing Yamaguchi at Onigiri Miya and quickly rushed over.

“Tadashiiiii!!!!” he excitedly jumped to hug the other man, almost causing Yamaguchi to fall.

“Ugh. Shoyo! You know you can’t do that anymore! You’re too big!” Yamaguchi laughed good-naturedly.

Hinata dismounted from Yamaguchi’s back by ways of being picked up and set down next to him.

“What do you think you’re doing to my fiance, Shrimp?” Tsukishima loomed over Hinata with a dark look on his face.

“I was just greeting him, you jerk!! Lay off!!” Hinata pouted and tried to scowl, but it only caused Tsukishima to smirk.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. “It is your big debut match, after all.”

"HE’S RIGHT!!!” Bokuto gasped. “Shoyo, we gotta go!!!!”

“I hafta pee though, so you go on ahead back to the team.” Hinata smiled at Bokuto.

“Aye aye!” Bokuto mock-saluted before going back towards where the team was conveening.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Yamaguchi offered. “You always seem to run into the worst people when you go to the bathroom… haha…” he tried to play off his concern with humor, but no one bought it.

“Relax, Tadashi. I’m 22! What’s the worst that could happen?” Hinata smiled before walking over to the bathrooms.

“...I’m going to follow him.” Tadashi said after a minute.

His blonde soulmate laced their fingers together. “Yeah, I figured. I’ll come with.”

* * *

“It’s time ta go, go, go!” Hinata hummed to himself as he lightly skipped down the hallway towards the bathroom. “Potty time, potty time!” he smiled to himself as his hand reached for the door. _And nothing bad even happened!!_

“Not gonna have any bowel issues today, are you?” a deep voice remarked from the end of the hallway.

Hinata’s heart dropped to his stomach as he recognized the presence. The hairs on his arms raised and his body tensed, going into full on panic and self-preservation mode. The only thing keeping him from hyperventilating was telling himself to _breathe, breathe, breathe._

* * *

_“You! What the heck have you been doing the last three years!?”_

_“If you want to win, then get stronger! Get better!”_

_“I’m going on ahead.”_

_“Ha! I win again."_

* * *

Without looking up or responding, Hinata’s shaky hand reached for the doorknob once more. The only sounds around him was his heart pounding in his ears, and black began to reach around the edges of his vision as his thoughts began to shut down.

The knob had been turned halfway before Hinata’s breath caught in his throat as a hand closed around his own.

“Wait…” the deep voice pleaded.

Hinata’s heart stuttered and paused for a beat longer than would be considered healthy. He made no motions or sounds as his mind and body had short-circuited.

“I wanted to talk to you…” Kageyama’s breath fanned in Hinata’s ears as he ducked down to eye level. Kageyama slowly took his hand off of the knob, delicately bringing Hinata’s fingers with his own and he grasped them.

The orange haired man stared at the ground and continued as if he were a statue.

“I know we haven’t… talked in a while, but I really wanted to talk to you. Even if for just a little bit.”

Hinata bit his lip as he focused on processing the other man’s words. “I--” his voice cracked. “I don’t know…”

* * *

_“So the other day I went and picked up Hinata from the airport.” Yamaguchi told his fiance. “You should've come along for the ride too! You would’ve been shocked at how tanned Hinata was!” Yamaguchi smiled and laughed at his own story._

_Tsukishima rolled his eyes. “I don’t have that kind of free time.”_

_“Oh!” Yamaguchi’s eyes lit up with excitement as he remembered. “That’s right! Hinata got this a souvenir for you!!” The greenette brought out a shockingly pink bedazzled shirt that read: ‘Rio de Janeiro.’_

_Tsukishima’s facial expression immediately turned sour. “I don’t want it. Take it back.”_

_“And he said to give it to you even after you said you didn’t want it!!” Yamaguchi smiled at how predictable Tsukishima was._

_Tsukishima huffed to hide his own smile. “Tch. Anyways...” he leaned his head upon his hands as the two soulmates faced one another across the table. Their soulmate letters hung on the wall in their living room nearby as a gentle reminder, though the two fiancees didn’t need it at this point in their relationship. “Why’d Hinata pick the Jackals? Did he say?”_

_Yamaguchi smirked at his fiance, knowing full well that the blonde fully cared about Hinata even if he refused to say it. “Yep! It’s because they’re the best team that was running tryouts other than--” Yamaguchi made a face before cutting himself off, though Tsukishima knew exactly what he was going to say. The ‘Adlers’ and threat of Kageyama loomed over both of their heads as they lapsed into silence._

_Tsukishima spoke up after a minute. “That’s a very Hinata thing to do.”_

_“Isn’t it?” his fiance agreed. “I only wish he hadn’t let… Kageyama affect his decisions.” Yamaguchi ran his fingers through his hair. “He tries to act like he doesn’t consider the chances of them reuniting before the game but I know that he has nightmares about it at night. I think he has a whole speech prepared and everything…” Yamaguchi tried to laugh off the end of his sentence to dispel some tension and Tsukishima frowned._

* * *

_“Hey.” A third year Tsukishima hesitantly approached Hinata a few weeks after their last third-year get-together. “Are you serious about switching over to beach?”_

_“What, like I’d go all the way to Brazil on a whim?” Hinata nervously laughed while avoiding eye contact._

_Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. “Uh-huh. Just wanted to make sure your impulsive idiocy hadn’t grabbed the wheel and started driving again.”_

_“Geez!” Hinata pouted good-naturedly. “What is it with you and Ka-- uhhhh…” he trailed off before shaking his flittering thoughts out of his head. “Will you die if you don’t say anything snarky every three minutes?”_

_Tsukishima grimiced. “I am not like him, thanks.”_

_The blonde could have sworn he heard a choked breath lodge itself in Hinata’s throat, but he never could be sure since the orange_ _haired boy had recently gotten so good at hiding what was going on behind his dead eyes._

_“I’m going, and I’m serious.” Hinata’s words were full of finality. “Because I can’t win on my own. I can’t win here. I can’t BE here. Not with him around. It’s going to drive me crazy and the only way for me to learn to live without him is to try. Besides,” he offered Tsukishima a boyish smile, “I did it for 18 years before. I don’t need a soulmate now. If he doesn’t want one, then we must be soulmates destined to be apart.”_

* * *

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi peered around the corner of the hallway, straining their ears like the neighborhood wine moms trying to hear gossip. After seeing Kageyama and Hinata standing as close as they could, the two fiances slowly backed away from the corner, recognizing that there was nothing they could do.

“I’m… going to stay here in case there’s yelling and I need to intervene…” Tadashi sheepishly told his fiance, though Tsukishima dispelled his worries with a light shake of his head.

“Believe it or not, but I want to see how this plays out as well. After all, I’ve been hearing about this as much as you have over the last few years.” Tsukishima’s cheeks twinged a light pink in embarrassment, but his soulmate said nothing. Tsukishima laced his fingers through Tadashi’s in a silent reminder that he was there for the other man as they quieted down in order to hear what was going on.

They soon figured out that they had missed a lot while taking their own trips down memory lane as they could hear voices slowly rising from the once silent hallway.

“--u never even tried to reach out to me!!” they heard Kageyama’s deep voice ring out in a higher pitch due to frustration.

“Why would I? You made it very clear what I meant to you.” Came Hinata’s dry response.

“Well I didn’t know it was _you_!!”

“So? Who’s to say that things wouldn’t have turned out the same with you not even giving things a chance?”

“ _I_ didn’t give things a chance!?” Kageyama spluttered. “You never even told me!!”

“I wouldn’t have had to tell you if you had read the stupid paper yourself!!”

“But you knew!! So what? You were content to just sit there and be by my side this whole time as _friends_? Even though we could be so much more? Why?”

“Because I knew how you felt! I knew you wouldn’t want to be trapped and since you _clearly_ didn’t want anyone to begin with since you didn’t open the env--”

“Would you just stop it with the soulmate envelope bullshit?”

Hinata gaped. “Why would I-- NO!! This is why I never told you in the first place! You’re so impossible!”

“So this is all on me, huh!?”

“YES!!” Hinata wanted to tear his hair out in frustration as he worked to keep a steady tone of voice. “The second I knew you’d never even opened the envelope was the moment I knew I had been lying to myself. You’d never wanted me before, and some envelope wasn’t going to change that.”

“You don’t know that! You can’t just _decide_ that there was nothing there in high school!”

Hinata shrugged. “Clearly doesn’t matter now since clearly we’ve both thrived without the other.” He took a few deep breaths secretly to keep himself calm.

 _In, out. Just like Tadashi taught me_.

Kageyama took in his own deep breath and Hinata flinched as he prepared himself for more yelling. “Thriving? I’m surviving, but I can’t live. I can’t sleep or eat since I opened the letter.”

Hinata let out a shaky breath. “I can’t just… let you decide now that this is when the envelope matters to you. That _now_ I matter to you, when you were so quick to let me go back then.”

“This is different! I want you now. I know that!! You can fix me!!”

Hinata shook his head and sniffed, willing back the tears forming in his eyes. “It’s too late, Kageyama. I can’t let myself be with someone who isn’t ready to dedicate themselves to me. I’ve been ready since I first read your name all those years ago, but you haven’t changed a bit. The second you figure out what _you_ want, you come running to me demanding I give in. I can’t do it.”

He paused before wiping his thumb across his eye to dry them. “And don’t ever try and think one person or a _relationship_ of all things can ‘fix’ you. There’s nothing wrong. You can’t depend on one person for oxygen to breathe and a purpose to live. That’s unfair and ridiculous. Did you ever think that maybe I don’t need it anymore? I don’t need the validation of the one person who will never give me it?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened, seeing he was losing this battle. “But... soulmates… the letter!? Don’t you want--”

“ _Yes_ ,” Hinata breathed out, “I want nothing more than to have someone to leap into their arms and celebrate or lean on and cry. But a soulmate? I can’t let that decide for me anymore. I wasted too much of myself on that. The envelopes don’t matter anymore. We’re adults. Time goes on. Grow up.”

Kageyama’s mind came to a halt as his mouth moved with no sound coming out. His heart leapt to his ears and the pounding crescendoed. _This is not what I wanted. This isn’t how this was supposed to go…_

“‘This isn’t how this was supposed to go.’ That’s what you’re thinking now, huh?”

Kageyama’s head snapped up as Hinata repeated exactly what Kageyama had been thinking. “I guess I still know you too well for my own good.” Hinata danced around on his toes for a bit and squirmed. “Well, if we’re done here, I still need to go to the bathroom before the game…”

_No no no no no! This can’t be it! I… I still need him…_ Kageyama shook his head, but Hinata ignored the gesture.

“You’ll be fine.” he smiled, but his eyes spelled out a darker message. “Takes some time to get used to, yeah? The feeling of a hole in your heart nothing can fill and hopelessness that there’s nothing you can do?”

Kageyama reached his fingers out to try and grasp the orange haired man as he tried to walk the final few steps back towards the bathroom door. Kageyama felt so small around this man who’s emotional maturity far outweighed his own. “But…” he tried to form something, anything, in his mind but came up blank.

His fingers brushed air as Hinata made his way into the bathroom. The door closed after Hinata’s parting words of, “I wish you the best.” Hinata’s words initially conveyed a challenge for the match coming up in a few short hours, but Kageyama knew that it was a final goodbye and a wish for a happy future without the orange haired man in it.

* * *

Hinata always imagined that his first victory over Kageyama would end with him standing triumphantly looking down at the other man, smiling at his success. This tangle of emotion as he congratulated the celebrating teammates surrounding him was nowhere near as sweet as he thought he’d be, but maybe someday it would get there. After all, he had all the friends and teammates he’d ever need to rely on.

Soulmates be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed!!


	3. Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The happy ending!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The very beginning of the story is the same since it's the same setup until it switches how they've lived!! Hoped you don't mind since its equally important to both!!

_“I never even bothered opening the letter. I don’t need to know who it is.”_

* * *

November 2018

“So that’s the guy you teamed up with, huh? Woah! Looks like one intimidating mountain of a man to me…” Atsumu smirked as he looked over Hinata’s shoulder to peer at the smaller man’s phone.

“Yeah, his blocking is super intimidating, but he’s usually all smiles and fun times.” Hinata smiled, reminiscing on the friend he had made in Brazil. His smile widened as he continued saying, “I heard he’s gonna be a dad soon, so he’s extra focused on playing his best right now.”

Atsumu nodded his head before scratching at his chin. “Really? Congrats to him… I bet him and his soulmate are super happy together.”

Hinata shook his head and laughed. “Actually, they’re not--”

_**“And next, it’s Kageyama up to serve!”**_

Hinata’s body froze as his eyes slowly trailed from Atsumu’s face back down to his phone. His peripheral vision didn’t miss the way Atsumu’s face twisted and looked around for help.

_**“Up to be served a piping hot plate of delicious POWER CURRY, that is!”**_

Hinata looked away from the screen and the ridiculous display of Kageyama going to town on a plate of curry. His intense focus drew Hinata back to the screen as Hinata smiled seeing Kageyama giving his all just like he always did.

Hinata shivered as the Kageyama in the commercial looked into the camera. It felt like he was staring directly at Hinata.

_What would he say if it was just us? It’s been so long…_

_**“POWER CURRY is a service ace.”** _Kageyama’s delivery was fairly bland, but hearing Kageyama’s voice for the first time in years caused a sob to wrack through Hinata’s body, but he quickly did the breathing exercises Yamaguchi had taught him a few months back.

He could feel Atsumu’s gaze on him, but neither of them were able to address the situation as the bus came to a halt and Bokuto leapt up to yell, “OOH! WE’RE HERE!”

Atsumu cringed at Bokuto’s volume. “Dude, do you have any other settings besides zero and one hundred and twenty!?” the blonde complained.

The team walked in with smiles on their faces, looking forward to the game. All of them were doing their pre-game rituals, and Hinata was internally sorting through his thoughts so he would be able to focus when the time came.

Upon entering the Kamei Arena Sendai, Hinata took a deep breath in. Nostalgic, he couldn’t help but gasp, “The smell of Icy Hot spray!”

After walking around with Bokuto to find what was smelling so good, the two professional athletes stumbled upon the food stand of Osamu Miya. Hinata gasped upon seeing Yamaguchi at Onigiri Miya and quickly rushed over.

“Tadashiiiii!!!!” he excitedly jumped to hug the other man, almost causing Yamaguchi to fall.

“Ugh. Shoyo! You know you can’t do that anymore! You’re too big!” Yamaguchi laughed good-naturedly.

Hinata dismounted from Yamaguchi’s back by ways of being picked up and set down next to him.

“What do you think you’re doing to my fiance, Shrimp?” Tsukishima loomed over Hinata with a dark look on his face.

“I was just greeting him, you jerk!! Lay off!!” Hinata pouted and tried to scowl, but it only caused Tsukishima to smirk.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. “It is your big debut match, after all.”

"HE’S RIGHT!!!” Bokuto gasped. “Shoyo, we gotta go!!!!”

“I hafta pee though, so you go on ahead back to the team.” Hinata smiled at Bokuto.

“Aye aye!” Bokuto mock-saluted before going back towards where the team was conveening.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Yamaguchi offered. “You always seem to run into the worst people when you go to the bathroom… haha…” he tried to play off his concern with humor, but no one bought it.

“Relax, Tadashi. I’m 22! What’s the worst that could happen?” Hinata smiled before walking over to the bathrooms.

“...I’m going to follow him.” Tadashi said after a minute.

His blonde soulmate laced their fingers together. “Yeah, I figured. I’ll come with.”

* * *

“It’s time ta go, go, go!” Hinata hummed to himself as he lightly skipped down the hallway towards the bathroom. “Potty time, potty time!” he smiled to himself as his hand reached for the door. _And nothing bad even happened!!_

“Not gonna have any bowel issues today, are you?” a deep voice remarked from the end of the hallway.

Hinata’s heart dropped to his stomach as he recognized the presence. The hairs on his arms raised and his body tensed, going into full on panic and self-preservation mode. The only thing keeping him from hyperventilating was telling himself to _breathe, breathe, breathe._

Hinata let out a deep breath and smiled softly to himself. He turned around and looked up to meet the eyes of Kageyama Tobio in all of his glory. “Heck no.” he responded seriously. “I’m not the kind of guy who gets stomach troubles before games anymore.”

Kageyama let out a small snort of laughter. “You’d better not, you runt.”

Hinata stood up straighter as a single imaginary tear drew in his eye. “Kageyama-kun! You’ve… You’ve grown up!” He pretended to wipe away his tear as he reminisced on how violently high school Kageyama would have been when expressing his repugnance at Hinata.

In retaliation, Kageyama launched his fist at Hinata. The orange haired man, however, quickly ducked and dodged.

“In fact,” Hinata smirked, “I think I could even beat you in an arm wrestling contest right now.” the shorter man rolled his sleeves up in challenge as his eyes locked onto Kageyama’s.

“Wanna try me?” Kageyama threatened.

Hinata shrunk back as the moment caught up to him. “Later!” He rushed to try and leave before Kageyama reached his hand out to gently grasp Hinata’s wrist.

“Wait…”

* * *

“Shhhhh Tsukki! They’ll hear us!” Yamaguchi hissed.

“What do I care?” his fiance bit back.

“Ooo y’all spyin’ on ‘em?” a faux-blonde snuck up behind the couple peeking around the corner. “I thought ta intervene but I think they’ll be alrighty.” Atsumu smiled.

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something no doubt full of snark, but Yamaguchi beat him to the response. “Shoyo’s our friend and we’re just... concerned at this reunion.”

Atsumu sighed before running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I hear that. Sho was all upset earlier t’day when he saw Tobio’s commercial.” The trio looked at Hinata and Kageyama in the hallway and saw that the two were talking as if nothing had changed between them. “‘course, I know everythin’ still eats ‘m up inside.”

Yamaguchi nodded in agreement. “We were talking a while back after I picked him up from the airport and…”

* * *

_“Wow! I know I saw the ring on your Instagram, but WOW!” Hinata admired the simple diamond on Yamaguchi’s ring finger. “I’m glad Stingyshima finally got the balls the propose!”_

_Yamaguchi blushed. “Yeah, well, we’d talked about it a while ago and decided that we were ready to take the next step whenever. He just beat me to it…” the greenette smiled as he reminisced. “It all just feels right with Kei, you know?”_

_Hinata looked down at his lap, unmoving. After a moment of silence, Yamaguchi looked up from where his gaze had landed on his finger to see Hinata staring down at his own empty hand._

_“Oh no! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to--”_

_"No, it’s okay.” Hinata sighed as he smiled grimly. “You don’t need to hold back on your happiness just because I don’t have mine.”_

_Yamaguchi’s eyebrows raised, but Hinata didn’t see it. “What do you mean you don’t have your happiness?”_

_Hinata fidgeted with his fingers and kept his gaze down. “When Tsukishima has to travel for games, do you feel… empty?”_

_Yamaguchi’s eyes widened as he realized where Hinata was going with this. “Well,” he thought carefully, “it certainly feels awful inside. The first time, I thought I couldn’t breathe without him since it had been so long since we were separated. But I knew that he was feeling the same way and so we talked about it and worked it out.”_

_Hinata nodded solemnly but kept quiet._

_“Do you… feel that way?” Yamaguchi hesitantly asked._

_Hinata sighed deeply before looking up. Yamaguchi had a clear few of his tanned face, though Hinata’s freckles from the sun and his complexion did little to hide the bags under his eyes. “...sometimes I wake up and feel like I’m suffocating. On those nights, the only way I can fall asleep is by rewatching his games.” Hinata admitted._

_Yamaguchi smiled softly. “Do you miss him?” he carefully asked._

_“Yes. So much.” Hinata answered without hesitation._

_“Then what’s holding you back? His offhand comment from when he was 18? You haven’t spoken since then… I’m not saying you have to…” Yamaguchi trailed off before finding his words. “But if you want to give him a chance, there’s nothing stopping you but **you**.”_

* * *

“...and then he told me that he wanted to talk to Kageyama about it and tell him that they’re soulmates, but he didn’t want to do it in person.”

The two blondes nodded at the greenette, agreeing with the sentiment.

“Yeah…” Atsumu nodded. “M’ soulmate ‘n’ I have disagreements all the time but we always communicate. I can’t imagine life without him.” Atsumu smiled thinking about his soulmate waiting for him in the locker room.

“I’m just tired of the pining.” Tsukishima admitted. “I’ve gotten texts from both of them over the years and it has taken every nice atom in my body not to tell the other about it, but I’m _very_ tired of it at this point.”

The trio nodded solemnly as they turned their attention back to the hallway where they could hear voices talking.

* * *

“--re you saying?” Kageyama’s confused voice rang out.

“I’m asking if you’ve opened the soulmate letter yet.” Hinata said nervously.

Kageyama opened his mouth to respond, but Hinata shook his head.

“I’ll tell you anyways. I’m your soulmate. I always have been.” Hinata’s voice cracked and he broke eye contact to stare blankly down the hallway.

Kageyama nodded and quietly said, “I know.”

“You knew? Were you lying when you said you hadn’t opened it!?” tears welled up in Hinata’s eyes as he considered that his soulmate hadn’t wanted him even after reading the letter.

“No, no no no!” Kageyama rushed to dispel the negative thoughts. “I, uh… read it a while back while you were in Brazil after I had some sense talked into me.”

Hinata remained silent and avoided Kageyama’s gaze.

“These last few years have been hard and I’ve wanted to reach out to you so badly…” Kageyama admitted.

“So why didn’t you?” Hinata choked out.

“Why didn’t _you_?” Kageyama countered.

The orange haired man shook his head. “You made it very clear that you didn’t need a soulmate so I decided that I didn’t need one either. And…” a choked sob made its way through Hinata’s body, and Kageyama’s fingers twitched as he longed to reach out and comfort the other man.

“I’m sorry. I--”

“Let me finish.” Hinata pleaded.

Kageyama’s silent answer was a compromise of the two sitting down in the hallway. The dark haired man sucked in a deep breath before reaching for the hand of the other man. Hinata’s smaller fingers laced through his own as the two let out a breath and allowed some of their stresses to leave.

“You know… when I decided to go to Brazil, I just wanted to get away from you. I thought it through, sure, but I also thought I could live without you. Granted, I missed Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and of course Natsu, but after we left the gym on that last day, I didn’t leave my bed for a week. I felt awful.”

Kageyama rubbed gentle circles on the back of Hinata’s hand in comfort.

“I thought I’d be alright without you since you didn’t want me, but after being by your side for three years, I struggled really hard with adjusting. I still struggle. But Brazil helped me heal little by little. I made new friends and met so many people,” he sucked in a shaky breath, “but none of them made me feel how you did. I know you don’t want a soulmate, but if we could be friends or even just acquaintances, I--”

“That’s not what I want at all!” Kageyama interrupted.

Hinata flinched and tried to unlace his fingers from Kageyama’s but the dark haired man gripped his hand harder.

“I feel the same way.” Kageyama admitted. “After I realized what I’d done, it destroyed me. You were nothing but perfect for me and I never even made an effort for you. I don’t deserve a soulmate as wonderful as you. I don’t deserve a partner or teammate or anything as wonderful as you. I don’t deserve you. If I could give you someone else as a soulmate, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Hinata jumped from beside Kageyama and ripped his hand out of Kageyama’s. The orange haired man gently grabbed Kageyama's face between his two hands. “I don’t want someone else!”

Kageyama and Hinata looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, unblinking. Still in a trance, Kageyama softly said. “I don’t want to be your friend. I want to be your soulmate. I can’t keep doing this, and I stopped pretending I could a long time ago. I want to be with you.” he sheepishly looked away. “That is… if that’s what you want?"

Hinata’s smile was blinding as tears streamed down his tan cheeks. “Of course I want to be with you!” he blushed and tucked his head into Kageyama's neck. “Could we… take it slow and try this soulmates thing out?”

Everyone from both teams that were spying on the two let out audible sighs of relief, though Kageyama and Hinata didn’t notice as they were still in their world of just the two of them.

* * *

“You made it.”

Kageyama and Hinata stared at each other from across the net.

“Yeah. I’m here now.”

* * *

**2021 Ariake Arena- The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Volleyball Venue**

A black haired man stands tall next to his partner as the two once again don the numbers 9 and 10. Their pinkies laced together as they stand proud, both having made it to the peak of their careers together.

“Set the ball a whole bunch for me today, okay?” Hinata looked up at his soulmate.

“If your bumps are good enough.” Kageyama acquiesced.

As the ball hit the floor during the game, the two made eye contact. With no words, they silently communicated their love through their fistbump.

Teammates. Partners. Soulmates.

* * *

**2022 Palalottomatica (Rome) FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Finals**

** Ali Roma (Italy Serie A) VS. Asas São Paulo (Brazil Super League) **

“Today…” Kageyama smirked.

“Today, once again…” Hinata looked up.

“I’m going to win.” They both finished the challenge.

The two nodded in recognition and shook hands, once again on opposite sides of the net.

It didn’t matter what team they were on or what continent separated them. They were soulmates through and through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> ( i think I messed something up with my ao3 so if you see Notes below this idk why its there :P )

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> I think I was just feeling some angst, so if you have any good angst recommendations please let me know :)
> 
> (Edit January 13th: im working on another chapter for this hopefully up this week or weekend!!)


End file.
